1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coin inlet for an automat, an exchanger, a game machine using coin-shaped medals such as a slot machine, or the like, through which a coin or a medal (hereinafter, referred to inclusively as a coin) is supplied.
2. Related Art
In a conventional coin inlet, coins are inserted one by one into a slot or slit having a length and a width slightly greater than the diameter and width, respectively, of the coin. Such a coin inlet, shown in FIG. 5, is typically used in the case where coin insertion is repeated many times, such as for a slot machine. In this coin inlet, a slot 3 is formed in the front side of a back plate 2 extending upwardly from a base 1 so as to insert coins one by one into the slot 3 along the back plate 2. The coin inlet is attached to a slot machine or the like by placing the lower part of the base 1 in an opening formed in the front face of the slot machine or the like and attaching it with suitable means, such as threaded fasteners. Moreover, the base 1 has a push button 4 for discharging clogged coins.
However, when a plurality of coins are continuously inserted into such a conventional coin inlet, a player has to have coins in one hand and insert coins one by one into the inlet by another hand, thus requiring the use of both hands. Otherwise it is necessary to carry out coin holding and coin inserting action at the same time by single hand. Coin insertion is difficult, and coins held in the hand are sometimes dropped onto the floor. For example, in the case of a slot machine, it is necessary to insert three coins per game, and in the case of, a game called "credit", up to 50 coins can be inserted. This multiple coin inserting action creates troublesome and wearisome problems for the players.
In order to solve these problem, there has been proposed a device in which a coin storing chamber is disposed in the body of the slot machine so as to accommodate a large number of coins. A continuous supply can be realized by operation of a button disposed on the front face of the body. However, because the coin storing chamber of this device is disposed in the slot machine, it is difficult to attach this device in an existing machine. Also, when the machine is designed and manufactured, there is a problem related to production cost due to the additional structure necessary for inserting coins by button operation, taking out unused coins and the like.